“At a time when news about the political and economic outlook seems to move hourly, it’s important to step back and look at the bigger picture,” Carney told a press conference.

“Globally, that big picture has darkened,” said the Canadian, who steps down at the end of January having extended his tenure twice owing to Brexit turmoil.

His successor has yet to be announced.

The BoE’s main task is use interest rates as a tool to keep 12-month UK inflation close to a government-set target of 2.0 percent.

The inflation rate held at a three-year low of 1.7 percent in September.

Earlier Thursday, Britain’s Conservative government cancelled a planned release of its own updated economic forecasts just one hour before publication had been due.

“This will no longer go ahead as the Cabinet Secretary has concluded that this would not be consistent with the Cabinet Office’s general election guidance,” the Office for Budget Responsibility said in a statement.

The Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party on Thursday each promised billions of pounds of investment for hospitals, schools and infrastructure as they seek to woo austerity-weary voters ahead of the December 12 vote.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives confirmed an end to a decade of belt-tightening with new plans to borrow to invest, while attacking the rival Labour party for pledging even greater largesse.